Goa: Tibetans display placards during protest against China for the freedom of Tibet in Goa on Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping is attending the BRICS Summit in Goa. (Source: PTI Photo)

Dozens of Tibetans shouted slogans and waved Tibetan flags to protest the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit in Goa. Police swooped in on the protesters on Saturday and dragged them away from the area, which was on Xi’s route to the five-star hotel where the weekend summit is being held.

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The protesters shouted “Stop killings in Tibet” as they were pulled into police vehicles before being taken away. Police said they would be released after a few hours. The protesters claimed Chinese authorities were planning to demolish part of a revered Buddhist monastery in Tibet.

Goa police had detained more than 20 Tibetans on Thursday to prevent any embarrassment to the Chinese leader. Last month, local authorities in Sertar, in eastern Tibet, announced plans to demolish parts of the Larung Gar Tibetan Buddhist Institute, one of the largest centers of Buddhist learning in Tibet.